Introduction

“Yes!” was the energetic and unanimous answer in 2012 when we as churches asked the question: Should we do something about the poor condition of our churches and our witness in our communities?

At that moment, the living God in His infinite grace guided us with His own hand.

He showed us our horrible weakness and sin, but also His endless mercy and grace so that we can repent in the faith that He will guide us on this road of Semper Reformanda.Always reforming and realigning ourselves to His Word and work in the world.

This decision set us in motion to first study and understand our situation and prayerfully discern the road to take. When the results of this study was put before our churches in 2015 suggesting the way forward, the answer was once again unanimous: “Yes!”

All this resulted in this booklet you have in your hands. The purpose of this booklet is to bring all that has been done in the process right into the hearts and minds of every church member and every local church. There is no church out there somewhere that this booklet is for. The church is me and you. The process is for us. Our minds, our hearts and our hands as the body of Christ Himself and the temple of His Spirit in this world.

May you work and pray through this with an open heart willing to repent where needed and with the expectation of faith in the gospel that the risen Lord, Jesus Christ, will guide and shape you through His Word and Spirit.

Griffel van Wyk

Church Growth Ministry Deputies

2015

Contents

Introduction

The focus-time format

Tools for exploring

Sermon suggestions

Daily devotions

Group studies

WEEK 1: THE MISSION OF GOD

Sermon suggestions

The cradle of mission: the Trinity!

Salvation of man is not the main mission, God’s glory is!

Many missionaries on mission

Do they smell Christ, or you?

The mission of God is eternal!

Daily devotions

Monday - The original mission

Tuesday - Mission not aborted!?

Wednesday - The scope of the mission

Thursday - The people of the mission: disciples

Friday – The tools of the mission

Saturday – The unexpected places of the mission

Group study

WEEK 2: REPENT!

Sermon suggestions

Nothing to repent?

Seeking life in sin, in rules or in Christ?

Conflict, Pride, Worldliness and the way back

The story of the unhealthy church

Broken enough yet?

Daily devotions

Monday - Finding joy in the Word: Christ!

Tuesday - Who is the boss?

Wednesday - Automatic or personal faith?

Thursday - Are you sitting back?

Friday - Enemy love

Saturday - Forgiveness of sins, not approval of sins.

Group study

WEEK 3: PRAYER

Sermon suggestions

First things first!

Christ’s gifts runs on prayer

Daily devotions

Monday – Our Father, bread, forgives and protection

Tuesday – After the prayer?

Wednesday – Prayer and worldliness

Thursday – Asking AND thanking ensures peace

Friday – Persistence in outreach prayer

Saturday – Intimate focus of prayer

Group study

WEEK 4: GROWTH

Sermon suggestions

An apprentice of Jesus

Rock in a pond

Daily devotions

Monday – Stay in Jesus!

Tuesday – Do you know Gods destination for you?

Wednesday – Growing asks effort!

Thursday – Christ leads you to others

Friday – Your role in the body of Christ

Saturday – Tired and hurting?

Group study

WEEK 5: EQUIP

Sermon suggestions

Everybody has a gift

Your gift is not yours

Your maturity in Christ – the aim of elders and deacons

Daily devotions

Monday – What have you received?

Tuesday – Unhappy about what you received?

Wednesday – What do you need?

Thursday – Your relationship with your elder(s)

Friday – Your relationship with your deacon(s)

Saturday – The Word and Sacraments

Group study

WEEK 6: ALIGN

Sermon suggestions

Let us consider!

Think!

Daily devotions

Monday – Beware!

Tuesday – Your only comfort?

Wednesday – True Religion?

Thursday – Handling different approaches to Christian life and ministry

Friday – Living in love and peace

Saturday – What about the others?

Group study

The focus-time format_

A magnifying glass is used to focus on the detail of something. This booklet and its format is like a magnifying glass. It helps a church to focus together on the topic of God’s mission and the calling and growth of His church. The format we will use can be called the ‘focus time’ format.

This focus time fits into six weeks. Every week we focus on a different topic. Every topic is explored in three ways: A sermon, daily devotions for home use and a group study.

The six topics we will explore are: The mission of God (Soli Deo Gloria), repentance, prayer, growth, equipping and aligning[1].

The following table shows how the focus time is set up over six weeks:

WEEK 1: The mission of God / Sermon / Daily devotions for 6 days / 1 Group study
WEEK 2: Repentance / Sermon / Daily devotions for 6 days / 1 Group study
WEEK 3: Prayer / Sermon / Daily devotions for 6 days / 1 Group study
WEEK 4: Growth / Sermon / Daily devotions for 6 days / 1 Group study
WEEK 5: Equipping / Sermon / Daily devotions for 6 days / 1 Group study
WEEK 6: Aligning / Sermon / Daily devotions for 6 days / 1 Group study

If you know the format then you also already know the benefits of such a focus time for yourself and your church! If this is new to you, we want to encourage your church to introduce one focus time like this for your church every year to focus on any issue that is relevant to your situation.

Toolsfor exploring

The tools used to explore the topics in the booklet will now be explained briefly:

Sermon suggestions

For each topic parts of Scripture are suggested with preaching tips to guide the preacher in preparing a sermon on the topic. Any of these suggestions may be used. Any other text that the preacher may prefer addressing the topic may also be used.

Daily devotions

Daily devotions on the topic of the week are provided for Monday to Saturday. These can be used on your own or as a household. Decide on a set time and work it into your schedule. This may even help to get you or your household back into the rhythm of daily devotions if this is not yet a regular practice for you[2].

Group studies

You may have existing groups in your church or none at all. If you have existing groups, ask them to follow these studies provided for the six weeks.

You may not have any groups or only very few groups.This focus time is ideal to establish new groups. Invite all your members to commit to meeting together in their wards under the guidance of their elder (or other leader)for the duration of the six weeks as part of the focus-time. It may be easier for them to commit for a shorter time and then they will hopefully enjoy it so much that they will continue to meet.

Enjoy your focus time and move through it with prayerful expectation that the Lord will use it in your life and church because His Word never returns empty!

WEEK 1: THE MISSION OF GOD_

The expression ‘Mission of God’ is used to talk about the big thing that God is busy with since before creation and will be busy with even after the recreation.

Mission of God refers to the greater and bigger purpose He is busy with throughout all the ages into which God the Father calls man to participate. It is the reason He created Adam and Eve, it’s the reason Jesus Christ the Son saves lost sinners and calls them to be His disciples and it’s the goal towards which the church is called to work with the Holy Spirit until the end. Adam, Abraham, Paul and yóú were all called for this one purpose. This ultimate goal is: …The Glory of God!

This is actually nothing new. This was also the great focus and driving force of the reformers of the reformation: Soli Deo Gloria! Everything, even nature, exists only for the glory of God. The purpose and therefore mission (goal) of everything is God’s glory. But it is exactly here that we struggle and fail horribly. Our sin has broken us and left us empty and hurting. Focusing on ourselves as the centre of our existence. The result is that werather seek our own gloryfirst and that we even resent God getting all the glory which belongs to Him forever.

This is where we must start…

Therefore, let us pray hard and work hard to once again get a clear focus on God’s Mission for God’s glory to understand with clarity where we fit in.

Sermon suggestions

Here are some helpful texts and tips for preaching on the Mission of God:

The cradle of mission: the Trinity!

  • Genesis 1:1 and v26,27; BC art 2; Joh 17:1-5; v 20-23; BC art 1 and 2.
  • The Triune God created everything with the mission to present His glory in nature and in man.
  • The mission of God is always filled with movement. Moving to love and glorify the other Persons of the Trinity, moving to create, moving to redeem and moving to recreate. Never sitting still, always active in a way that shows and enhances His glory.
  • Following Him in this purpose will ask the same active movement beyond ourselves.

Salvation of man is not the main mission, God’s glory is!

  • Ephesians 1:1-14
  • Here the role of each person of the Trinity in the salvation of man is explained but with special attention to verses 6,12,14 where each time the purpose of the work of each Person of the Trinity is God’s glory.
  • Joh 17:1-5
  • Phil 2:9-11
  • Even the salvation of man is not the mission of God, God saves to demonstrate His glorious nature and reclaim the awe and praise that is rightfully His.

Many missionarieson mission

  • Genesis 17:1-8 & Phil 2:9-11
  • Joh 17:18 & Joh 20:21
  • BC art 27
  • The church does not have a mission, God’s mission has a church of the ages to serve His mission.

Do they smell Christ, or you?

  • 2 Cor 2:14-17
  • The triumph belongs to God, we participate because of Christ and are used to spread this knowledge of Christ for Gods benefit.

The mission of God is eternal!

  • Rev 4
  • In Rev 4 all of creation, earthly and heavenly, is bent on proclaiming and serving the limitless glory of the eternal God.

Daily devotions

Follow these daily devotions personally or as a household together.

Monday - The original mission

  • Genesis 1:1 & v26,27
  • What was the original relationship between man and God?
  • How would man achieve this purpose?

It was never about you. Ever. God created man to be a representation of God in the way man interacted with creation. This contributed to God’s glory like art contributes to the fame of the artist. Looking at man, God should have been the first the observer would think about. Today, the purpose of man is aimed at himself. Even his interaction with creation is mostly for his own gain, pleasure or glory. Why is it so tough for people to not focus on themselves? Pray about this.

Tuesday - Mission not aborted!?

  • Genesis 3 especially verse 6+7
  • With what lies did the snake lure Eve?
  • How is this directly in contrast to the purpose of man’s creation?
  • What is remarkable about God’s character and conduct in these events?

Even after man’s fall, God pursues man because of His gracious nature and not because of man’s merit. This act in itself demonstrates the gospel of God’s grace in Jesus, promised as the seed of Eve that will demolish Satan. God persists with His mission and prepares for us to again join in glorifying Him. Even our devastating fall of unfaithfulness, causing such heartache and pain in our world today, would not stop God from drawing me and you into His presence and mission. Where can you feel Him pulling you?Adam, where are you? Pray about this

Wednesday - The scope of the mission

  • Genesis 17:1-8; Gal 3:7-9; Phil 2:9-11
  • When God started with Abram, with how many people did He want to finish? (v2)
  • Was God only interested in the family offspring of Abram?
  • How broad was God aiming with His mission?
  • How is God aiming at you?

Being part of the mission of God is being part of the single greatest and longest running project on earth involving humans. It is not only over a long time, but also includes people from every nation on the earth. It is huge and actually just the right size to show off the might of God to all in heaven and on earth. The only requirement to be part of this is confessing sin and trusting in the saving grace of God to let us once again join in the same mission that God promised to start with Abraham. Are you part? Pray about this

Thursday- The people of the mission: disciples

  • Mathew 4:18-25
  • What does disciple mean?
  • Why is it significant that Jesus called these people?
  • Why did Jesus go and do the things in v23-25 just after calling these people?

A disciple is like an apprentice. A person learns a trade from a master by watching him and practising what he sees. These men were not chosen to continue their religious studies as young Jewish boys. They became apprentices to their fathers in their fishing trade. Now Jesus invites these normal people to become apprentices in the biggest mission on earth. They simply trusted him and jumped at the opportunity to follow a Rabi. Then he takes them around, preaching about His kingdom and showing His kingship. They were watching and being trained. Are you following where Jesus calls you, watching and being trained? Pray about this

Friday – The tools of the mission

  • Mathew 5:13-16
  • 2 Tim 3:10-4:5
  • What does Jesus mean with salt and light?
  • Why is it important that words and deeds match?
  • What is the essence of the gospel that people need to hear?

The tools of the mission are gospel words and gospel deeds. Words proclaiming the love of God in Christ, and deeds proclaiming the love of God in Christ. This is the reason that the whole disciple and his whole life are tools in the hands of the living Christ. Christ has especially grouped his disciples together in a local church to be this witness in how they gather around Christ, and follow Him into their communities. That is why his church is also called the body of Christ. Him active and present in your community. Are you a sharp tool? Is His body fit? Pray about this.

Saturday – The unexpected places of the mission

  • John 4:1-26
  • What do you learn from the woman’s question in vers 9?
  • What is important to understand about where God can be worshiped in Jesus’s words in vers 21-24?

Samaria was off-limits for good Jews. Samaria was a province where people of mixed race and mixed religions lived. Many Jews travelled a longer road just to avoid the place. Jesus didn’t. He entered where nobody else wanted to go. He also spoke in public to a Samarian woman. This could cause him a lot of problems. But there he is able to reach into the heart of a woman that nobody else would have reached. An unthinkable person in an unthinkable place hears about unthinkable grace. Jesus shows her that anybody from anywhere can worship God in any unexpected place. Do not just avoid these places or people in your life… The mission of God may even be calling you there! Pray.

Group study

This study is intended for groups in your church to do together during the week focusing on the Mission of God.

  • Pray together for Gods guidance
  • Conversation starter: How is it helpful to have a clear picture of your goal before your start something?
  • Read 2 Corinthians 5:11-21
  • Give an opportunity to those willing to share something that stood out for them in this text.
  • Give an opportunity to those willing to ask a question about something in the text. First give everyone a chance and write down the questions.
  • Discuss the questions together
  • Share with each other what you think God is saying to you in the text for your life regarding God’s mission.
  • Pray together.

WEEK 2: REPENT! _

After the focus of last week on God’s mission and glory, it may have become clear to you that you are actually on your own mission mostly for your own glory. You may need to repent of somethings but repenting is tricky. The human heart is so deceptive and self-righteous that it is very difficult for us to see our own sins, and very easy to see the sins of others! We do not even like to be told to repent. We are afraid of searching ourselves, seeing the dirt and looking up into the judging eyes of God. We are afraid of losing our lives. But here lies the beauty of the gospel. When we look up towards God in honest confession… we see the merciful eyes of God because of Christ’s sufficient work on the cross and only then start to truly live a life far more fulfilling than we had. (HC LD 33)

Search your heart honestly, pray for clarity about your sin, bring your selfish sin to the light of the cross and discover the overwhelming joy of new life for God in the light of the gospel.